| Commissioned to Serve |
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| Commissioned to Serve |
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| Introduction: Jesus gave a commandment to those of us who would be His disciples - Love One Another. This is something more than simply holding a warm spot in your heart for fellow believers. In fact, it has little or nothing to do with feelings or emotion. It has to do with our deciding to allow Christ’s love to flow through our lives to those around us. He said, "even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. " We are to love like He loved us. Take My Yoke Upon You: Jesus said, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Matt 20:28) He expressed His love in service to others. His service was given at their point of need. He healed them of sicknesses, set them free from demonic possession, calmed their anxiety, taught them life giving truth, showed them the Father, gave them direction and purpose, washed their feet, and died in their place. But how can we do all of this? Put on His harness, go in His direction, and give what He provides:
A yoke was used years ago to attach a work animal to a piece of equipment like a wagon or a plow. It was designed for efficiency in pulling, safety for the animal, and yielding of control to a driver. Without the yoke, the animal would wander aimlessly and accomplish nothing. All of the power that God has placed within the work horse would be useless for plowing, planting, or harvesting. If the animal was placed in the field to harvest without a yoke, it would simply consume what it wanted to satisfy its hunger and then probably trample the rest. It could not pull the machinery. It would not know what to do nor where to go. However, when it is yoked to farm implements and guided by its master, the same animal can help provide food for itself and hundreds of others.
As Children of God, Believers have the Power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within. (Acts 1:8 "but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.") With this Power we are capable of doing anything the Lord calls us to do. (Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.") If this Power is not harnessed, however, it is virtually wasted. (John 15:5b "...for apart from Me you can do nothing.") Unless we take His yoke upon us, we are like powerful work horses who see the harvest fields as merely an opportunity to satisfy our own needs. Many Christians shrink back at the thought of ministry. A typical response when called upon to share Christ, or make a disciple, or give of themselves to meet the needs of another is, "Oh, I couldn’t do that! I wouldn’t know what to do or say!" The great Israelis leader, Moses had a similar reaction when asked to return to Egypt and confront Pharaoh and lead the people out of their slavery:
When Moses stopped focusing on his inability and began relying upon God’s infinite capability, he was instrumental in freeing his people from their 400 year slavery to the Egyptians. He helped transform these slaves into the great nation of Israel. He saw God perform mighty miracles through him. He saw the finger of God write the Ten Commandments and was responsible for establishing the legal foundations for the nation. He spoke with God face to face!
The Lord gives you the capability to do all that He asks of you. All you are required to do is trust Him to do this by agreeing to answer his call. He will do everything else! When we demurely hold back for fear that we are incapable of doing what He calls us to do, we may think we are being appropriately humble. In fact, we are really demonstrating our lack of trust in God’s faithfulness to do what He says He will do. So, the first step in taking His yoke upon you is to trust Him to enable you to accomplish the work He gives you to do.
The second step is to allow Him to direct your steps. There are so many things that need to be done we can easily become distracted. There are the things we want to do, the things we must do, and the things we ought to do. Each of these can be done in our strength and authority, under the authority and enabling of some other person, or in the name of Jesus relying upon His Power and Authority to accomplish the activity. Make a list of the "things" you do and mark an "X" in each column that applies to your situation. Mark all columns that apply to the specific activity. Really search your heart; just because something is secular does not mean it is not God ordained. Likewise, those things that are typically Christian activities may not be specifically assigned to you by God. For example, God wants us to pray, but if you are always choosing the time, place, and topics of discussion, He is not directing you in this activity. In a similar manner, you may be teaching a Bible class at your church, but the real reason is not because God has asked this of you, but rather, because someone in church leadership pressured you into it.
Reflecting upon your daily activity, who sets your agenda? Are you being led by God, or is He simply invited to come along in case He’s needed. When you put on the Yoke of Jesus, you also hand Him the reins. He is to be the driver and guide you into and through everything you do. The final step in taking His yoke upon you is to follow His lead constantly. That is we must do only what He leads us and empowers us to do. The farmer doesn’t just point the work horse in the direction of the field, he guides the animal every step of the way. Have you ever started something in response to God’s prompting and months later wonder why He seems so distant, and the very thing He led you to do has become drudgery and isn’t going anywhere? This may be an indication that at some point you took back the reins. You reached the point where you felt comfortable in the activity and capable of handling it without complete reliance upon the Lord. Sometime ago, He stopped guiding, supporting, and enabling you in the endeavor, and you didn’t notice until everything just became an impossible burden to bear. If you are "heavy laden" in this way, Jesus wants you to come back to Him and once again take His yoke upon you and learn of Him. Allow Him to direct you and empower you each moment. Ask Him often, "Am I to continue in what you gave me to do yesterday or is it time for some changes?" If you bring your activities in subjection to Christ’s Lordship, He will tell you when to press on in the face of obstacles or when to discontinue one ministry to begin another. Give Him the reins of your life and let Him lead you every step of the way. Do not rely solely on your own capabilities, but rather draw upon His power working within you.
Servant Training: Taking His Yoke upon us means going where He leads to touch lives with His love and power to draw people to a closer relationship with Him. When we put on His Yoke, He takes the responsibility for showing us what to do and how to do it. When He first sent out His disciples, He taught them and gave them the capability to do all that He expected them to do; then, He sent them out to apply what they had learned while He observed and followed up with further instruction as it was needed. In Luke 9, Jesus sent the twelve disciples out, and later in Luke 10, He sent seventy (or seventy two) more out. Let’s follow along with these initial Servant Training classes and see what we can learn.
Jesus called them together, gave them power and authority, and sent them on an assignment with basic guidelines. Have you been in a situation where one or more of these components were missing in a job? It is a very uncomfortable position. If you do not know what your manager wants you to do nor how she or he wants it done, or if you do not have the capability (power), or if you have not been given the authority to accomplish the task, you will fail in your job. These are the four basic ingredients to delegating work assignments. When they are all present, the job gets done right! Jesus ensured the success of His disciples by giving them all they needed to do the job He assigned them. In addition, these people were not only sent out to minister to the needs of people; they were to rely on those same people for their own needs. This method of ministry keeps the minister from becoming aloof and avoids the "minister/spectator syndrome". In this method of ministry everyone is involved in the life of another. Everyone participates in some way, and thereby, strong relationships are built. Notice also that Jesus told His disciples not to move from house to house, but rather to stay in one place until they had finished their work. This too would help to develop stronger relationships.
The next phase of their training was to go on a Ministry Retreat. After the disciples had completed their assignments, Jesus took them aside to a quite place. There they prayed, discussed their accomplishments, and then Jesus asked them about what they had learned. He consistently modeled this behavior in His Own work. He frequently turned aside from His ministry to be alone with His Father. Unlike Jesus, we have a tendency to avoid these "retreats" especially when the ministry we have been given is going well and is truly meeting vital needs. We must be careful not to lose sight of the Lord while trying to do the work He gives us to do. It seems the more necessary the ministry; the more likely we are to get so caught up in the work that we lose sight of our Source. This condition usually creeps up on us slowly and engulfs us before we realize what has occurred. Often believers are called into a ministry as a result of their close communion with the Lord. The more we are with Him, the more sensitive we become to the needs around us. We see families breaking up because fathers and mothers blame that gnawing, aching emptiness inside on one another. People are frantically working to maintain standards of living that they rarely have time to enjoy. Many people are filled with anxiety because their lives are anchored to sand. Fear guides their lives as violence grows and trust erodes. Jesus sends us out to touch their lives. He often asks us to really get involved with these people and to allow Him to work through us over an extended period of time. The more effective we are at allowing Christ to work through us to meet their needs, the busier we become. When we get busy, we start looking for ways to "cut corners". Too often, we shorten our conversations with God in order to have more time to do His work. This inevitably leads to a less effective ministry. When this occurs, we redouble our own effort and the ministry suffers. When our relationship with the Lord becomes less important than the work He gives us to do, both the relationship and the work start falling apart. During the retreat, Jesus asked them what they had learned from their ministry assignment. He didn’t ask for a status report that indicated how many people had responded to their touch. He didn’t ask about the diseases that were healed or the demons that were defeated. He didn’t ask were they had been or with whom they had stayed. He focused on the central purpose for their mission. "Who do people say that I am?" We must never forget that introducing people to Jesus is the main goal of any ministry. People may be in desparate need. They may be starving and dying of disease, but their deepest need is to know the LORD! Finally, He asked, "Who do you say that I am?" He wanted to see how their encounter with the world’s perspective had affected their spiritual insight. One of the risks of being in the world is that we get infected with the world’s thinking. This is yet another reason for frequently getting alone with God. Jesus frequently went off to a lonely place to commune with His Father. When the crowds pressed around Him to be freed from their diseases, hunger, and demonic oppression, Jesus met their needs by drawing near to His Father. How can we do less?
There are many things to learn from this Scripture, but for now let’s refocus on a central tenet of discipleship. Here in Chapter 10 as in Chapter 9, Jesus sent His disciples out as lambs among wolves with no provisions other than His power and authority. He did not ask them to apply their talents and skills. He did not ask for any of their resources. He simply took them as they were - weak but willing to serve. The point is the weaker we are in ourselves, the more effectively He works through us to touch the lives of those around us. "For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) Jesus’ power thrives in our inadequacy. When we operate strictly or predominately out of our own reservoir of capabilities, two disabling spiritual conditions arise - Pride and Self Reliance. These conditions rob God of the Glory due Him, and therefore, keep us operating in the natural rather than the supernatural. If you feel God has commissioned you to serve others and you feel overwhelmed with your own inadequacy, answer His call. Rely upon His power and authority, and you will see the wonders of reconciliation as the affects of sin on the lives of people and their surroundings are miraculously reversed.
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